Safety flue-thimble cover



' WITNESSES: INVENTOH 1&1 v u I i f 7 ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.)

A. A. GUSTAPSON. SAFETY FLUB THIMBLE COVER No. 537,765. Patented Apr. 16, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrionf.

AXEL A. GUSTAFSON, OF AXTELL, NEBRASKA.

SAFETY FLUE-THIMBLE COVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,765, dated April 16,1895. A plication filed December 27, 1894. Serial No. 533,115. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AXEL A. GUsTAFsON, of Axtell, in the county of Kearney and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and Improved Safety Flue Fhimble Cover, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to chimneys; and its objectis to provide a new and improved cover, arranged to securely close the pipe opening leading to the chimney flue to prevent gases, smoke, soot or fire from passing into the room from the said flue.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, a forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improvement. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same as applied; and Fig. 3 is a cross section of the improvement, on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

The improved device is provided with a dished cover A, formed with an annular flat flange A adapted to rest on the face of the chimney B, so that the cover A closes the end of the pipe opening B leading into the room,and connecting with the chimney flue B In the center of the cover A is mounted to turn a screw-rod 0, formed on the outside of the cover with a suitable knob O to permit of conveniently turning the screw rod, for the purpose hereinafter more fully described.

The screw-rod 0 extends into the pipe open ing 13', and its inner threaded end 0 screws in a nut D, formed or secured in a disk E engaging with its edge the inner surface of a cone shaped expansion thimble F, held with its apex on the forward end of the rod 0 next to the concave center portion of the cover A. The thimble F has over-lapping ends connected with each other, near the apex of the thimble, by a rivet G carrying two washers under its heads on the inside and on the. outside of the thimble, as is plainly illustrated in Fig. 3. The rivet G is sufficiently loose in the over-lapped ends to permit the base end of the thimble F to readily expand or contract on moving the disk E inward or outward, by turning the screw-rod O.

In manufacturing the device, the base end of the thimble F is made somewhat less in diameter than the pipe opening B, so that when the device is applied, as shown in Fig. 2,and the operator turns the knob O to turn the screw-rod C so as to cause the disk E to move inward on the screw-rod, then the thimble F is expanded and its base end moves firmly in contact, at its head, with the inner surface of the opening B, so that the device is not only firmly secured in position on the chimney B, but any entrance of smoke, gas, fire or soot from the flue B through the opening B into the room is entirely prevented.

The device is very simple and durable in construction, can be cheaply manufactured, and is readily applied or removed whenever desired.

When it is desired to remove the thimble, the operator turns the knob C in the opposite direction, so as to cause the disk: E to travel inward on the screw-rod O, and to permit the thimble F to contract so as to move out of engagement with the inner wall surface of the opening B.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination of a cover, a rod extending through the same and having a han dle on the front side of the cover, the rear end of said rod being screw threaded, a coni.ca] ..8.5-,---

expansible thimble having a perforation at its apex to receive said screw rod, and having its apex adjacent to the rear face of the cover, and a disk arranged in the open base end of said thimble and provided-with a nut screwing on the screw threaded end of the rod,'substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a cover, a rod ex- .tending through the same and having a handle on the front side of the cover, the rear end of said rod being screw-threaded, a thimble formed of sheet metal bent to form acone with its apex open to receive the screw threaded rod, said apex being adjacent to the rear face of .the cover, the edges of the thimble overlapping and being riveted together at the apex and a disk arranged in the open base end of said thimble and provided with a not secured at its central part to screw on said screw threaded rod, substantially as set forth.

J. E. SWANBORN, C. L. OARLSON. 

